Priceline stock flirts with historic $1,000 mark

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NEW YORK - Priceline.com came close to becoming the first stock in the Standard & Poor's 500 index to ever cross $1,000.

Investors jumped onboard Friday after the travel booking company reported better than expected second-quarter earnings. The stock started trading at $992.03 and rose to almost $995 before leveling off. At midday, Priceline was up 4.7 percent at $977.48.

The company's stock hasn't been this high since it had an adjusted closing price of $974.27 on April 30, 1999, a month after going public.

Online travel sites like Priceline, Expedia and Orbitz have their roots in booking airline tickets, but have branched out because of a decline in commissions the airlines pay. Priceline has been the most aggressive and successful in diversifying through several company-owned sites including Booking.com, Agoda, and Rentalcars.com.

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